Sainsbury’s and O2 is a ‘meeting of minds and brands’

10/4/2010 11:02:00 AM
Sainsbury’s and O2 is a ‘meeting of minds and brands’

The new O2 concession store in Sainsbury’s is a ‘good meeting of minds and brands’, O2 head of retail Richard Baylis told Mobile.

Baylis said about the partnership: ‘When we first started talking to Sainsbury’s we saw there was a real convergence between both companies, in that we were both wanting to deliver a great customer experience. Customer experience is a real defining factor for O2 – it was a good meeting of minds and brands.’

The operator’s first supermarket concession store opened in Sainsbury’s Crayford on 29 September.

Baylis said that the concession will operate as an O2 high street store with live handset displays. It will be managed by O2 staff and offer the operator’s ‘full suite of products’.

‘You can expect all the products and services you would expect in a high street O2 store. The concession is staffed by O2 staff because we are the experts in mobile, home broadband, home phone and mobile broadband,’ he added.

Baylis claimed that the concession was not about attracting a broader range of customers. He said: ‘We may get a different type of customer, but we get a broad range of customers anyway. This concession is a new way to shop in an O2 store. We already have a broad demographic and the purpose of the trial is to find out whether our customers and staff find this to be a good experience.’

The retail executive confirmed that the concession was a trial, but would not expand on details about further rollout.